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Alexander Alyimov is the director of a self-created PR firm, Tochka Otsheta, and one of the most popular youth bloggers [ru] in Astrakhan. He can often be seen with Igor ‘Astranin,’ the local leader of Nashi. Astranin is also a popular local blogger [ru], whose election-season activism included a visit [ru] to Moscow to attend pro-United Russia rallies last December.

Both bloggers have remained closely connected to politics, and Alyimov attended both pro-Kremlin and opposition demonstrations in February. Defending one pro-Putin rally, Alyimov wrote [ru]:

[…] I just talked with a member of the ‘opposition’ on LiveJournal and asked him what they were planning. He answered that the time has come to push aside the authorities. ‘And what will happen once they're swept away?’ I asked. And he answered that they would figure it out later, while a interim president served. I’m against such an approach. We've already had a ‘we'll figure it out later’ experience. Before calling us to the barricades, the opposition should know where its leading us. Otherwise, everything could turn out very badly. Russian civil society exists, [but] there are no worthy leaders in the opposition. That's why I am supporting Putin in these elections. Even though I constantly struggle against the tyranny of state officials, I don't want to risk the country for the sake of such ‘opposition’ leaders.

Alyimov noted the low attendance at opposition protests, estimating that about half of the people who came were politicians. His blog post ends with the following emphatic denunciation:

You ask why so few people showed up to “PROTEST” and why so many, who not long ago attended the opposition rallies, have now turned out to “SUPPORT” [Putin]? The reason lies in the leaders who bring people out into the streets. Modern society has too little trust in them.

From apathy to awareness?

Navalny with a local student in Astrakhan, Russia. (14/5/2012). Photo by Anastasiya Simonenko. (Used with permission from author.)

April 10 brought unexpected change to Astrakhan: activism, famous Moscow politicians, and sizable rallies. The commentary on VKontakte [ru] was mixed:

We've never before had this kind of protest! The entire country is watching us and this Saturday there will be many Russians from other towns and cities!

An Astrakhan pro-Shein group has grown on Vkontakte, as well, with people offering their homes to visitors in town for the demonstrations.

The VKontakte backlash

As commentary posted to VKontakte grew more intense, cynical Internet memes appeared mocking the arrival of Muscovites in Astrakhan, implying foolish or sinister plots in the works. The complaints often targeted Aleksei Navalny, alleging a foreign infiltration of Astrakhan by outsider activists and politicians.

In the first image above, Shein is implanted into a Snickers advertisement, encouraging him to break his hunger strike. In the next mockup, an advertisement for the latest American Pie film is transformed into “Astrakhanskii Pie: Reunion,” equating Muscovites’ trek to Astrakhan with a fatuous high school reunion. Finally, we find an example of a popular Zhirinovski meme. This iteration alleges that Astrakhan's protests are an import from Moscow — and that locals do not attend: “There's Navalny. There's Udaltsov and Yashin. And Sobchak is flying in, too. But where are the Astrakantsi?”

Short anecdotes have also emerged, again mocking Shein's resort to a hunger strike. VKontakte user Vasily Kamaldinov published the following joke [ru]:

All week long, Navalny traveled around Astrkahan, encouraging locals to attend the April 14 rally and tweeting pictures as he met students, civil workers, and government employees. On the day of the demonstration, opposition leaders relied on social media to mobilize and coordinate protestors after police blocked off the square originally intended for the rally.

Technology, however, is not a panacea for Astrakhan's struggling opposition. Many in the city are still strangers to Internet technology, and remain equally unaware of both the Twittersphere and the political atmosphere. Traditional outreach efforts are still underway — the mid-April events were littered with the winter's signature white ribbons, and activists enthusiastically handed out buttons and flyers. Even a local night club added to the propaganda effort (as well as the confusion), by trying to use the April 14 protest as a marketing tactic.